Evan, as a conservation agronomist, how would you say that you have connected farmers to the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative?

Well, it's first started, you know, I came into RCFI at ISA and they'd already established this relationship for multi-years already at this point.

And so then working with melissa and her team as well as ag retailers and then individuals who can build out these prescriptions for us where it's really all a team effort is really what it is and being able to connect with them in one-on-one with the ag retail sector and we utilize their customer base but also their interest in nutrient management uh selling these products, able to grow the crops that's necessary, looking everything at from variable rate technology, soil grid sampling, various practices that allow us to implement these on-farm trials through the Research Center for Farming Innovation.

Evan, as we speak about connecting with the farmer, what have you found has been some of the most important things when it comes to connecting with the farmer in terms of why this is so important and the work that you do every day, how that can not only help their farming operation in terms of the conservation side, but really just helping them overall as an operation in terms of efficiency?

Yeah.

And with these trials, that's what we really uncover.

And, you know, you got to find those farmers that are willing to do it.

And I find a lot of them that they are.

Is that something that you really enjoy about your job is actually getting out in the field and getting to participate in things?

Yep.

I love putting on my hip waders and going and trudging in the water and getting muddy, but even walking along in the fields and looking at cover crop termination methods with our farmers and being able to really be in the field and show that these practices are working or not.

maybe things that need to be improved or challenges that we do have.

And at Iowa Soybean Association, backing that with research and with data and numbers is really what we can talk about all day long.

But to showcase these practices that they either A, work or they need improvement, that's what we're here to

And do you have any way that you go about pitching conservation to sales agronomists, or how does that relationship work out?

Well, having been a former sales agronomist myself, it, it helps understand where they are and how their sales process is, what they're trying to accomplish on their own personal goals, but also the, for the company goals themselves.

And so, you know, I say it's even a lot of our farmers, you know, there's basic things that you may not think you're a conservationist, but you are.

And I'll start listing off a couple things, and they start nodding their head, or you start seeing them even if they're not nodding their head, they, they know what you're talking about.

And so those sales agronomists are the same way.

I haven't met a single sales agronomist that wants to make a farmer spend more money.

They're trying to help farmers fine-tune their fertilizer programs, raise high-yielding crops, yes, and meet those fertility needs, whether that's, whether that's in, uh, dry fertilizer or manure or biologicals or liquid, whatever it might be.

And so what's the biggest challenge that you're facing in your field right now? And if you are tackling it, how are you tackling it? If you aren't tackling it or want some suggestions, you could also mention that too.